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Harness the insights you need to identify and treat type 1 diabetes

The Zinc Transporter 8 (ZnT8) Antibody Test helps assess the risk of type 1 diabetes. It can be used alone or in combination with other antibody tests, such as the Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase-65 (GAD-65), Insulinoma Antigen-2 (IA-2), and Insulin Antibody Tests.

In symptomatic patients, the presence of one or more of these antibodies confirms a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.1 In asymptomatic patients, the presence of one or more of the antibodies may predict the development of type 1 diabetes.1

Roughly 65 to 80% of children with recently diagnosed type 1 diabetes2,3 and 20 to 40% of adults with type 1 diabetes have antibodies to ZnT8.3,4

When to use the ZnT8 Antibody Test

  • In individuals with diabetes of uncertain etiology
  • In obese individuals with acute-onset diabetes with ketoacidosis
  • In lean individuals with nonketotic diabetes
  • In individuals at high risk of developing type 1 diabetes (eg, those with a first-degree relative with type 1 diabetes) in the context of a clinical research study1

When the ZnT8 Antibody Test is used in conjunction with tests for other autoantibodies (GAD-65, IA-2, insulin), diagnostic sensitivity for type 1 diabetes is improved.2,4,5

Type 1 diabetes tests

This information is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. A physician’s test selection and interpretation, diagnosis, and patient management decisions should be based on his/her education, clinical expertise, and assessment of the patient.


References
 

  1. American Diabetes Association. Classification and diagnosis of diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2015;38(suppl 1):S8-S16. doi:10.2337/dc15-S005
  2. Andersson C, Vaziri-Sani F, Delli AJ, et al. Triple specificity of ZnT8 autoantibodies in relationship to HLA and other islet autoantibodies in childhood and adolescent type 1 diabetes. Pediatr Diabetes. 2013;14(2):97-105. doi:10.1111/j.1399-5448.2012.00916.x
  3. Vaziri-Sani F, Oak S, Radtke J, et al. ZnT8 autoantibody titers in type 1 diabetes patients decline rapidly after clinical onset. Autoimmunity. 2010;43(8):598-606. doi:10.3109/0891693090355592
  4. Kawasaki E, Nakamura K, Kuriya G, et al. Differences in humoral autoreactivity to zinc transporter 8 between childhood- and adult-onset type 1 diabetes in Japanese patients. Clin Immunol. 2011;138(2):146-153. doi:10.1016/j.clim.2010.10.007
  5. Petruzelkova L, Ananieva-Jordanova R, Vcelakova J, et al. The dynamic changes of zinc transporter 8 autoantibodies in Czech children from the onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Diabet Med. 2014;31(2):165-171. doi:10.1111/dme.12308